After nearly a year of R&D and manufacturing, RE is proud to announce their much anticipated OCTANE SSK for the E9X M3. There have been some design challenges along the way, but this is why they diligently pursue the right solutions rather than rushing a kit to market.

As you can see in the picture of the pre-production kit above, there are specific components that are unique to the OCTANE SSK. By explaining the details of each part, you will comprehend the extent of time and materials that go into each kit.

The Components

1. 6061-T6 ACQ Billet Carrier - Painstakingly CNC machined from a block of aluminum about the size of a brick, this carrier has incredible strength and rigidity over a stock component. It incorporates Rogue Engineering's Pivot Relocation Cup, to raise the pivot point of the shifter higher, allowing the shifter more drivetrain clearance. An important feature is that it realigns the selector rod so that it is near the factory position, preventing off-axis forces against the transmission's selector rod gear joint, preventing shifting notchiness. If you wonder why Rogue Engineering's shifters have always been the SMOOTHEST shifters on the market, this is one of many small details which allow many of our customers to recognize the ingenuity of RE OCTANE SSKs.

The carrier comes complete with custom Delrin carrier bushings, eliminating excessive carrier movement as a result of the factory rubber bushings.

Factory carrier, factory rubber bushings. Too much play

2. RE's OCTANE shifter lever may seem like the same lever we use in our other kits, but at a closer glance, you will see that it incorporates a double bend, to emulate the factory shifter lever. In essence, the top of the factory lever is moved backwards, approximately 1/2 from the axis of the lower part of the shifter. Other companies have made the mistake of only bending the top of another factory lever backwards, hoping to solve this ergonomic challenge. However, bending the top of the lever back only tips the shift knob towards the driver, and does not emulate the factory position accurately.

During development, RE noticed that the E9X M3 represents the first manual transmission vehicle that BMW has produced where the factory shifter lever is actually excessively lowered. Ergonomics is an important feature in any BMW, and if you were like many of us, we discovered that the shift knob in a stock E9X M3 was very low and very forward (where driver's with larger hands could punch the lower console in the forward gear changes). We deduced that BMW wanted to provide a "sporty" feeling shifter (which it is), but at the expense of driving comfort. With this in mind, we have tweaked the shifter so that it is more comfortable for the driver.

STOCK geometry has downward angle to shifter

RE modified shifter geometry improves position

Mainting their use of the Ertalyte TX pivot point, machined from solid Ertalyte TX rod, to exacting specifications. In developmental testing, our pivot has been shown to be 41% smoother than a stock pivot and an alarming 200% smoother than another aftermarket company's shifter. Small details such as these add up in the long run.

3. Rogue Engineering's Self-Adjusting Pivot Point (SAPP) is still used in our E9X M3 application, proving that our simple and effective method of lower pivot tension control maintains reliability, durability, and longevity. Just ask the 50% of the Grand Am Koni Challenge teams racing with Rogue Engineering shifters in their cars.

4. RE replaces the hollow, factory selector rod with a heavier, TIG welded, stainless steel replacement. This adds additional mass, over the press-tube construction of the factory part. This helps the shifts in the vehicle feel factory smooth, while allowing for the reduced throws.

Bundle these parts together, and you have a cohesive short shift kit that reduces throws, but also eliminates the factory shifter sloppiness that should have never been in your E9X M3 in the first place.

What RE has found over a decade of producing short shift kits for BMWs is that overbuilding the shifter components is absolutely worth it. See others use a multitude of microscopic hardware to hold shifter components together may work in the beginning, but will eventually fail when the product is no longer under warranty. Whereas the parts may not be expensive, the reinstallation or repair can at inconvenient times and even costly.